Cook Architectural Design Studio | Award Winning Chicago Architect2015-07-24T17:39:04Zhttp://cookarchitectural.com/feed/atom/WordPressadminhttp://cookarchitectural.com/?p=14032015-07-24T17:39:04Z2015-07-24T17:39:04Z
Freshhome magazine recently posted an article titled, 10 Ways to Conquer Your Home Design Creative Block , featuring one of our past projects! The article discusses ways to get past designers block, so be sure to check it out along with our project which is located under the “Paint Swatches” tip!

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It’s been a few months since moving into our new office space and we couldn’t be happier! A welcoming reception area flows right into our conference room containing a wall of glass with an expansive view. We designed the kitchenette/workroom to be efficient and utilized ¾ height walls to promote a sense of openness and flow. The building’s concrete floor structure and clean mechanical ductwork allowed us to expose the ceiling creating a very contemporary aesthetic that adds visual interest and really opens up the studio. Anytime you’re in the area feel free to stop by to see it for yourself!

]]>0adminhttp://cookarchitectural.com/?p=13952015-06-30T21:30:57Z2015-06-30T21:30:57Z
CA/ds will be closed Friday, July 3rd in observation of Independence Day and will reopen Monday, July 6th. We hope all of you enjoy the holiday weekend with family, friends and fireworks!

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CA/ds welcomes its’ new newest team member. Mr. Diehl earned his Masters of Architecture in May 2015 as well as his Bachelors of Architecture in 2014 from North Dakota State University. Mr. Diehl is excited to start his new chapter in Chicago, and what a time to become a Chicagoan, while the Blackhawks clinched the 2015 Stanley Cup Championship.

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Batter up! CA/ds held their annual Summer Outing last Friday consisting of a baseball game at the newly renovated Wrigley Field! Mother Nature wasn’t very cooperative with the cold temperatures and rain, but that didn’t stop the team from having fun! The renovations of the stadium turned out very well keeping the integrity of the historic field intact. In terms of summer, a day at the field is always a recommended activity for the season!

]]>0adminhttp://cookarchitectural.com/?p=13842015-06-02T14:10:45Z2015-06-02T14:10:31ZContinue Reading]]>Like our projects an addition takes time and planning, after an intensive interview process CA/ds is pleased to announce the addition of a new Architectural Intern to the firm. Logan Diehl will be joining our ranks on June 2, 2015; he is relocating here from North Dakota. Just in time to enjoy some summertime activities around the city.

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Have you heard about the changes to the Intern Development Program (IDP) yet? As of July 1, 2015 the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) will no longer require elective hours, reducing the number of hours down to the 3,740 core hours currently required. Each jurisdiction sets its own requirements for initial licensure and may require additional requirements such as minimum employment duration, so be sure to check your state’s licensing requirements here .

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May 3, 2015 marks the fifth year CA/ds has sponsored the “Fine with an MS Free World” team. The team walked in Glenview, Illinois this year and our contribution helped them achieve their team goal. We congratulate all the participants at this site, who together raised over $226,000.00 towards finding a cure for MS.

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True Excitement! That’s how we felt when asked to feature one of our latest lake front homes in the recent issue of Modern Luxury NS. The article highlights some of the many unique design features, like the ‘true north’ compass and gets the homeowners perspective on how the house responds to their goals. It’s a one of a kind house on a spectacular property and you can read all about it by picking up a copy of the magazine or you can see an abridged version in the on-line article here . We know you will be truly glad you did.

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We are proud to announce that Patrick Murphy has been promoted to Assistant Project Manager. Patrick continues to bolster the ideology of CA/ds with our clients and fellow employees. In addition to managing multiple projects, Patrick was instrumental with the design of our new office space, as well as monitoring the construction activities. We look forward to his continued growth in the profession and with CA/ds!

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CA/ds is a firm believer in sustainability and giving back to the community. As part of our office move we were happy to be able to donate a wide variety of new and gently used office supplies to PAWS Chicago, which they sorely needed per their office staff. Our client Merrick Pet Care also generously donated all the food for the animals in the shelter.

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Our office will be closed on Friday, April 3, 2015 so that we can move to our new location at: 150 North Wacker Drive, Suite 2360, Chicago, Illinois 60606. Our new office is just across the river from the Merchandise Mart allowing us to keep our convenient access to many showrooms in the River North neighborhood. The new office has inspiring city views and the convenience of valet parking for our clients and visitors. Stop in to see for yourself next time you are in the area!

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We recently hosted an architecture student from the University of Michigan for a week long externship. Our student, Tim, was assigned to complete many marketing, drafting and office tasks consisting of renderings and putting together competition boards. Our office has strong ties to the University with most of our staff calling it their alma mater and we believe in the strong and continuous pipeline to give students educational and professional experience that they can use as a springboard moving forward.

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Neolith is a sintered compact surface material that can be used on many different applications. This product can be used on exterior facades, flooring, wall cladding, kitchens, baths and sinks. Its wide range of uses makes it a very appealing architectural resource. The products compact nature affords it with great strength but also a stylish look. The fireplace is a strong focal point in our single family home project in Georgia, so we specified Neolith as wall cladding to make a contemporary statement that is both dynamic and sophisticated.

]]>0adminhttp://cookarchitectural.com/?p=13362015-02-23T14:37:17Z2015-02-23T14:37:17ZOur team has become even more talented, with Ms. LaVigne receiving her Interior Design license from the State of Illinois. Ms. LaVigne’s pursuit and achievement of this accreditation reinforces CA/ds’ holistic, detail-oriented approach to all phases of the design process on every project.

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These spaces are sure to be bustling with activity making the best Valentine’s Day card yet! We designed these spaces for the kids to do homework and give them a space to be inspired in creating artistic masterpieces! “You can never start an artist too early.” We would like to wish you all a very Happy Valentine’s Day!

]]>0adminhttp://cookarchitectural.com/?p=12772015-02-09T19:06:04Z2015-02-09T19:06:04ZContinue Reading]]>Have you seen us in recent issues of Luxe magazine? We believe in thorough, personalized, creative and forward thinking design and felt being part of Luxe was a great way to bring attention to our work. While most of our work is in the Chicago, North Shore area, we have also completed projects around the country. Luxe magazine is a national design resource publication available at your local bookstore. Be sure to look for us the next time you browse an issue!

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Chuck and his lovely wife attended the Red Carpet for Hope event on January 11, 2015 at the Trump International Hotel and Tower. Chicago was 1 of 3 cities to host this spectacular event to raise awareness and money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Guests enjoyed a red carpet reception, live auction, cocktails, dinner and presentation of the 72nd Annual Golden Globes. Photo by: Kas Photography

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Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Our latest retail project is mentioned in Chicago Architect magazine. The segment can be found in the November/December issue for the completion of the Lalique boutique located in The Shops at Crystals in Las Vegas! As mentioned in our previous post here , the art-deco inspired showroom with its warm leather panel and black lacquered running trim throughout provides architectural depth, but also showcases our clients’ products. To view the publication, click here .

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CA/ds celebrated its 5th annual holiday party in style or should we say Mystery?? We attended the Billionaires’ Club Annual Masquerade Ball presented by the Murder Mystery Company. One guest from each table is cast as a possible suspect; our very own Patrick Murphy was cast as Owen Cash. We worked as a team to try to solve the murder. The evening was very entertaining and fortunately Patrick was not the culprit. But unfortunately our team “Bo Derek” did not solve the mystery; we are better suited for solving a design dilemma then a murder.

]]>0adminhttp://cookarchitectural.com/?p=12642014-12-23T18:50:40Z2014-12-23T18:47:31ZCA/ds is closed for the holidays, we will return on Monday, January 5, 2015.
We hope your holidays are filled with JOY and wonderful memories, and may that thoughtful gift find its way under your “Charlie Brown” tree too. MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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We are making great progress on this new home we previously introduced on the North Shore steeped in Spanish style architectural features. We’ve been modeling, detailing and meeting with the project team to refine the design to make it the perfect home for our clients. This has been a very exciting project to work on with a continuous, flowing floor plan all the while being blended with traditional style elements like elegant fallen arches, paneled walls and coffered ceilings. This synthesis of styles is very much a compliment to the varied interests of our clients and has been equally fun as it’s been challenging. Stay tuned for more updates as this project continues to navigate through design and construction!

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The dining room on the left was designed to comfortably seat 10-12 people with room to expand into the adjacent foyer. Built-in corner cabinets provide beautiful display space for crystal and china while conveniently having it close at hand. A niche for the furniture buffet makes it a focal point without taking floor space away from the room. The dining room in the center photo shows a more contemporary dining room highlighted by built-in LED light-coves at the ceiling that are dimmable to create the perfect mood lighting. A built-in buffet is flanked by full height cabinets that also glow with LED lighting. The cabinet fronts have sustainable resin panels embedded with copper wire mesh to help conceal the contents of the cabinet (no pressure to display your ‘fine china’). A stone top on the buffet ensures that dishes and warming trays are no worry. The dining room on the right seats 10-12 people in a traditional setting. The hand scraped hardwood floors add charm while the upholstered walls provide both beauty and sound absorbing acoustics which can help when boisterous Aunt Maude comes over for Thanksgiving dinner. All of these ideas show that the right design can help to make sure you have a Happy Thanksgiving!

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The finish line is near for our renovated condominium project located right here in downtown Chicago! This project was particularly interesting because our clients each have their own design aesthetic requiring great thought and sensitivity to their requests. An affinity for millwork was a shared bond that we capitalized on and individualized through rich, earthy tones and soft, white tones. We believe that the resultant design melds our clients’ individualistic and common design styles all the while creating engaging spaces that are their own, yet flow seamlessly from one to the next.

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These architectural resin panel inserts are a versatile alternative to traditional glass inserts. Our clients are seeking LEED Silver Certification for their home, so we specified resin panels by Lumicor for the inserts at their cabinetry in their dining room and bar alcove. The panels are made from 40% recycled resin content and are 100% recyclable which satisfied our clients desire for a different look while be mindful of the environment. In this application our client chose the “Searchlight” pattern for their home, but they are available in a variety of sizes and patterns as well as custom colors if needed. Make sure to follow our projects for other sustainable inspirations for your home. If you are interested in this sustainable product, you can learn more about Lumicor’s products here .

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We want to share another Revit visualization for our newly completed project on the shores of Lake Michigan. We think you would agree the chimney for this project came out exactly as we envisioned. We utilize Revit to help us convey design intent to our client as well as the contractors. We believe our modeling capabilities make the design process more engaging for our clients. We welcome the opportunity to design your dream home with you.

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Our client recently shared this photo of their dream home decorated for the holiday. The ‘holiday outlets’ that we provided in the ceiling of the porch and along the driveway allow holiday lights to be controlled by a wall switch inside the house and provide a convenience that they greatly appreciate. It is evident from the photo they still think their home is spooktacular! Happy Halloween from all of us!

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We were recently selected to design a new 10,000 sq. ft. single family home on the North Shore. Our client strongly resonates with Spanish style architecture and our past experience with the style, both locally and in California, helped assure them that the goals for their dream house would be achieved. Follow along as the project continues to proceed through the design process. What style of architecture should we use to design your dream home?

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Last week we were on site to check on the progress of the rough framing of one of our on-going renovation projects. Our client wanted to open up (shown in the pictures above) the original layout of this early 20th century home to create stronger sight lines increasing the connectivity between the family room and kitchen. Walls, openings and ceilings were being framed in with good progress. Construction is continuously moving, so be sure to check back so you don’t miss out on seeing this project come together!

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Our office location in the Merchandise Mart, on the Chicago River offers many amenities to the architectural profession, including the excitement and inspiration of new construction. Neighboring sites at Wolf Point, River Point and 150 N. Riverside have been a boon of activity with high-rise towers going up that will bring new office space, and around 500 apartments to the river corridor. The Wolf Point site itself (pictured above) has been progressing at a rapid pace over the past few months constructing the parking garage and residential tower. The other two sites mentioned, will be composed of office towers and large urban park space.